Colleagues reunite as Bognor Regis bank closes doors for the last time

To mark the occasion, and to wave goodbye to their old workplace, former staff member Jenny Clark organised a get-together with more than thirty previous colleagues, all of whom, she said, had a great time looking back on days gone.

Jenny retired twenty years ago, and said Natwest – where she spent 30 years – was a hugely important part of her career, one which deserved a fitting send off.

"We were all mortified when we heard of the closure,” she said. “But we do of course realise that a lot of the branches are closing. I used to run the Middleton branch, which was one of the satellite branches to the main branch, so of course it was very sad.”

Nonetheless, she said it was wonderful to see to many old faces again, and to spend the morning reliving the old days of her career. “It was lovely,” Jenny said. “Some of us still keep in touch, and afterwards we all went to a nearby coffee shop and sat in there for two hours, catching up and trying to remember the names of different people, different customers. It brought up a lot of happy memories. We came away with smiles on our faces.”

Natwest is one of several major bank chains to have closed in Bognor Regis over recent months, with Barclays having closed in August, and HSBC closing in July. Services have been moved to nearby branches, like Chichester, and most bankers are expected to do the majority of their business online. For some residents, this puts some people at a disadvantage; in particular those who need some kind of face-to-face interaction to get their banking done, or those who do not have access to the internet.

Jenny sympathises with those concerns, but feels banking has been moving away from brick and mortar facilities for some time: “I said years and years ago that the banks would move to a hub, where all the banks are represented. But it is very sad. Especially for older people. I think it’s a social thing. And to lose that is a great shame really.”